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Hiring

May we ask about criminal convictions?

05/23/2008
Q. Our employment application asks whether the candidate has been convicted of a felony. Is it legal for us to ask this? If so, can we ask what the applicant has been convicted of? Can that information be used as a basis for not hiring an individual?

Stable job history is a legitimate hiring criterion

05/22/2008
It’s OK to favor applicants who’ve proven they can stick with a job for a while. That’s not discrimination, as a recent court ruling shows. The key: Allow employees to explain job gaps. Then ignore those that could lead to a discrimination lawsuit … 

Seven states now mandate use of E-Verify system

05/22/2008
The silence from Capitol Hill on immigration issues has spurred states to pile on the new laws. Example: In the past two years, seven states have passed laws requiring certain employers to use the federal government’s E-Verify system to electronically confirm new hires’ employment eligibility …

Bad news: $730K train derailment; Good news: Free venison!

05/19/2008
William Bowman and his employer, Pyramid Stone Industries, a granite quarrying business in Elberton, had an informal agreement: Bowman, who lived in a trailer next to the quarry, kept an eye on the place after business hours. As part of the agreement, Bowman frequently used the company’s golf cart to travel between the quarry and his home …

Should we now be using the new I-9 Forms to document worker eligibility?

05/16/2008

Q. Our HR department is using I-9 forms from several years ago. At what point should we use the new revised form issued by the federal government? …

Immigration enforcement focusing on smaller firms, criminal arrests

05/15/2008
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) grabbed headlines in the past year with large-scale immigration raids at big companies. But now that ICE has more trained officers and better coordination with other agencies, it’s targeting more small businesses, too …

Pre-Employment tests: Do yours meet the new EEOC guidelines?

05/15/2008
In December, the EEOC issued new guidance on employment tests and selection procedures under three laws: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The key to complying is to make sure each employment test is directly job-related and focuses on business necessity …

Roskam seeks better tax credits as incentive to hire veterans

05/14/2008
U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, who represents Illinois’ 6th Congressional District west of Chicago, is spearheading efforts to make it easier for employers to get tax credits for hiring veterans of the war in Iraq …

The pitfalls of providing references

05/13/2008
Q. Why is it that so many companies refuse to give references for former employees? …

Workers’ lawsuit says hotel owners enslaved them

05/13/2008
Four Filipino immigrants have filed a federal lawsuit accusing a pair of Oacoma, S.D., hotel owners of subjecting them to conditions of slavery, forced labor, trafficking in persons and peonage—essentially indentured servitude …